Indigenous Christian families assaulted amid land grab conflict in northern Bangladesh

At least six people have been injured in attacks on Indigenous Christians and Hindus in Bangladesh. Trees in a Catholic cemetery were also cut down, and a Hindu temple was destroyed in the attack.

The violence took place on April 19 in the Christian village of Birganj in the area of Christ the King Catholic Church in the Birganj area of ​​the Dinajpur Diocese in the northern part of the country.

Nearly 200 Muslims were reportedly involved in the attack and used local homemade weapons such as axes, iron rods, and bamboo sticks in an attempt to steal land from Indigenous Christians and Hindus.

Indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are made up of ethnic groups that are culturally and historically distinct from the Bengali majority in the country, and many happen to be Christian, Hindu, or Buddhist.

“Six Indigenous were seriously injured in the attack and one was pierced by an arrow. The injured are undergoing treatment in the hospital,” Pius Murmu, a 45-year-old Catholic injured in the attack, told EWTN News.

Murmu said that almost 50-60 families live in Birganj and that they have been using the land there for more than a century. In addition, more than 200 landless Indigenous families in the area use the cemetery to bury their dead and live around it.

Indigenous Christian families in Birganj say they have been living on the land there for several generations.

Saiful Islam, police officer in charge of the local Birganj police station, told EWTN News that there has been a long-standing dispute with members of the Indigenous community over a small parcel (93 decimals, which is .01 acres) of state-owned land. Rezaul Islam, son of Abdul Quader of the nearby village of Ghoraband, claims to own the land.

According to the police officer: “On April 19, at noon, about 200 people led by Islam and his uncle Azad attacked the temple and graveyard with the intention of taking the land. They attacked the temple with sticks, rods, and sharp weapons and cut down 10-12 trees in the graveyard. A house was also vandalized during this time.”

He added that when members of the Indigenous community resisted, they were beaten up and injured.

Saiful Islam also said that after the police received information, they went to the spot and dispersed the attackers. Additional police were deployed to control the situation. The vandalized property and other evidence were seized.

When asked about his involvement in the attack, Rezaul Islam said: “I bought 41 decimals of the land in 1999 and another 48 decimals in 2023 from someone else. The remaining land belongs to the graveyard.” But he denied the allegations that he attacked Indigenous people, saying: “We are not involved in this attack. I do not know who or what carried out this attack.”

Christians account for less than half a percent of the population of Bangladesh and religious minorities are only 8% of more than 180 million people in the Muslim-majority south Asian nation of Bangladesh.

Father Antony Sen, convener of the Justice and Peace Commission of Dinajpur Diocese, said he believes minorities are often made victims of violence because of injustice and the lack of will on the part of government officials to address it.

“Such incidents will be resolved only when the government of the country is humane and solves every incident fairly. The government must solve the problem of these Indigenous people with land,” Sen told EWTN News.

He said the problem is not only with privately-owned land but also that Church lands are also threatened as local influential people make attempts to occupy it. Sen said they will soon hold discussions with government officials to try to resolve the situation.

The attack in Birganj is not the only example of violence against Indigenous people and religious minorities in Bangladesh; most of it is centered on land grabbing.

In 2001, a bomb attack took place during Sunday Mass at Most Holy Redeemer Church in the southern district of Gopalganj, killing 10 and injuring over 50 Catholics.

On Jan. 24, 2015, a group of Muslims armed with homemade weapons and firearms attempted to forcibly cultivate tribal lands in Dinajpur.

On Nov. 6, 2016, in the Gobindganj area of Gaibandha district, tribal homes were set on fire and three Christians were killed.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) annual report in 2025, on violence against religious and ethnic minorities, recorded over 1,000 cases of human rights violations.

The interreligious forum’s findings were based on media reports from July 2023 to June 2024. During this period, 45 members of minority communities were murdered and there were 10 attempted murders and 36 death threats.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/asia-pacific/indigenous-christian-families-assaulted-amid-land-grab-conflict-in-northern-bangladesh